How I Lost 500k on My Condo in Thailand Part I
. . . and how you can easily turn a healthy profit
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I wish the title of this article read How I made millions flipping my apartment in Thailand. The truth however, is that I lost roughly half a million baht on it. More if I account for inflation, common area fees and taxes. Less if I factor in rent not paid as I would’ve stayed in Bangkok anyway. Still, in the end it was a losing endeavour. Call it stupidity. Call it impatience. It was a combination of both.
Mr. Failure however is a great teacher. I’m certainly glad I met him. Although profit was never my primary motive, nobody likes to lose money. I consider the lessons I learnt doing just that invaluable and timeless. I’m very confident I could put my money to very productive use in the Thai real estate market today.
So why don’t I, you say? Two things have changed. First, my personal finances are much better now than they were just a few years ago. Hence I’ve made the world my home rather than a single country. Second, I now value liquidity above all else in my investment strategy. Were I to turn bullish on property again I’d hold REITs. Try selling your Asian property and you’ll see just how liquid it is, but I digress. . .
WHAT THIS SERIES WILL TEACH YOU
Old friends still contact me from time to time asking for advice on buying, selling and renting a condominium or house in Thailand. This means that even experienced expats and people who’ve lived there for years value good advice on the state of the property market.
Additionally, I keep stumbling across stories of people who think they’ve procured a steal of a deal only to realise they paid at least 30% above intrinsic value when they try to sell years later.
This article should therefore at the bare minimum help you avoid making a lot of mistakes.
At best, it will help you make a lot of money.
Maybe you’ve just gotten married in Chiang Mai and are doing research on buying. Or you’re just more bullish on the Thai baht than any other asset class and see property as the best proxy to play a strengthening currency through. Whatever your motivation I believe you will save and earn money by applying the valuable lessons I learnt as a buyer, seller and decade long observer of the Thai real estate market.
A) NEED TO KNOW IDIOSYNCRASIES ON BUYING & SELLING PROPERTY IN THAILAND
Thailand’s real estate market is quite different from USA and Europe’s. You need to be aware of these differences. With roughly 25 Million foreign visitors in 2014 the country appears to be in the 
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